last wednesday, i got a very cool & totally unexpected shout-out from
brides.com: inclusion in their
"10 best wedding invites of 2010" story! so, because of that and as part of my year-end purge, i thought i'd share one last tidbit from our wedding: the invitation suite design (and then, i'm calling it a
wrap!)
the how-to for those on a real budget:we wanted to keep the entire wedding artful, handmade, modern & simple, all on a very serious budget. inspired both by nature and the city (we call both the midwest & nyc home), we wanted the wedding & invitations to reflect that.
i started making little
watercolor blots, not knowing exactly where i was going with them. i scanned some of my favorites into photoshop and realized that they made great mountains. one of my prized possessions is a drawing of mountains by husband, so i knew right away that it was the perfect image for us.
we hired the amazing
betsy dunlap to do the calligraphy. she sent us a digital file of our names in her beautiful hand-written style - a very affordable way to have a customized look without the custom price! i assembled the image, names & text in photoshop.
after a long search, i found a reasonably priced printshop in soho -
soho reprographics. i gave them my files, and they digitally printed & cut the invitations - about 100 invitations for under $100. i was so happy with their price, paper, & print quality, especially after many disappointing visits with some very expensive (not to mention, cheap-looking) "wedding" printers.
we included a small rsvp card that i ordered online via
overnight prints for under $25. we took a small instant photo (fuji instax) of the manhattan skyline from our neighborhood in brooklyn. the photo became the front of the rsvp card, and i added the online rsvp info on the back. i printed the cards two-to-a-postcard and cut them in half myself.
the invitation, rsvp card, and a small square of matching tissue paper were tucked into a kraft paper envelope (about $50 at
jam paper) and sealed with matching washi tape. betsy also hand-addressed each envelope, and i had a custom return-address stamp made in the same font as our invitations (also from
soho repro, about $30).
the mountain design was featured throughout the wedding - on programs,
fabric, signage... i got lots of mileage out of those little watercolor blots! for more of our wedding,
clickie here.
now, back to the
freaks & geeks marathon and plotting my new-year-all-veggie-all-the-time-run-yoga-go-to-sleep-early-read-a-book-and-make-shit-happen plan...
she paints & embroiders & makes rugs, too (among many other things).
and you can't really beat this portrait by clarisse demory of the lovely, lovely ensuite blog. in it, nathalie wears an issey miyake dinosaur dress, textile pattern of her own design. 
i am such a zombie today. we got up suuuper early to catch a flight to new york this morning. we've been dealing with lots of ice & snow lately (snowpocalypse, anyone??!) and left early enough to get to the airport safely. 
i am a nervous flyer anyway, but between the roads, the flight, launching my new online shop (!!!), and work, i've sort of been a ball of nerves the last few days. (ok, i've been a bit of a basketcase.) so, it was such a sweet and calming surprise to finally get to the loft we're staying at in brooklyn and see how amazing & welcoming it is. i really haven't missed the city since we've moved, but maybe i do a little now... i mean, one could get used to that view! 
sunsets in new york??? new york has a horizon??! who knew!? 
one could also get used to sitting in one's eames(ish) lounge chair, sipping on one's chock-full-of-nuts while one works... duhhhhh.
all right, i am obviously losing it... besides, we have peruvian food to order-in! yay!
bonjour! i am so happy to introduce you to OUi: my new line of handcrafted products for the artful home. OUi is a modern expression of traditional craft, with simplicity, sustainability, health, and quality infused into the substance of each item. 
a few months ago, i purchased a sample kit from mcmc fragrances that contained one small vial of each of anne mcclain's six handcrafted scents: Maine, Maui, Noble, Hunter, Garden, and Humanity. i have never been much of a "perfume" girl, but it feels very natural to me to have worn one of these scents everyday since. each one really is lovely & subtle. i especially like mixing them together based on how i feel that day. 
the invitation, rsvp card, and a small square of matching tissue paper were tucked into a kraft paper envelope (about $50 at jam paper) and sealed with matching washi tape. betsy also hand-addressed each envelope, and i had a custom return-address stamp made in the same font as our invitations (also from soho repro, about $30).
the mountain design was featured throughout the wedding - on programs, fabric, signage... i got lots of mileage out of those little watercolor blots! for more of our wedding, clickie here.
i recently saved this 1920's paper moon portrait (as seen on design*sponge), and i just ran across this nytimes t mag article about photographer alice o'malley which features her version of a paper moon. maybe paper moons are in the inspiration ether... sweet.
please click to enlarge (l-r): himmeli garland, black flower wrap, wreaths, yellow wrapped package, handmade gift wrap, screenprinted gift wrap, paper & straw tree garland, confetti system ornaments (not actually available, bummer!), and red tapers/green bottles...
